MidLife Crisis
by Zolac no Miko
Summary: A middle-aged man buys the now decrepit Bebop on a whim. Is it a mid-life crisis? Or something... more significant?


Well, here I am again, dipping into the Cowboy Bebop universe. This is a little one-shot that occurred to me to write. Um, takes place well after the end of the series, mebbe about fifty years further up in the timeline? Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Sigh. I do not own the rights to the series Cowboy Bebop. I just like to visit this nifty little universe, because it's fun. I come in peace! Don't shoot!  
  
Mid-Life Crisis  
  
'Wow. Will you look at that.'  
It was late afternoon, and the setting sun lit up the man's light brown hair, causing it to glow golden. He stood on the jetty with one hand shading his brown eyes, craning his neck to stare up at the massive ship docked right in front of his harbor-front home. For the hundredth time, he read the word painted in orange letters on the side of the metal behemoth: "Bebop."  
He grinned widely, his heart pounding with joy. 'I can't believe I actually bought this old thing,' he thought. 'An actual bounty hunting ship....'  
"OI! MEATHEAD! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, GET CLEANED UP FOR DINNER!"  
He winced at the screeching, and sighed deeply before calling back, "Yeah, whatever Wanda, I'll be right in!"  
He shook his head, chuckling. Wanda had freaked when he'd brought the old tub home. He couldn't explain to her why he'd felt the need to buy the "filthy, rat-infested rust bucket," as she'd so delicately described it. He couldn't really explain it to himself. He wasn't usually the type to fork over 20 million woolongs in an antiques auction. It had been a whim, really. Call it a mid-life crisis.  
He shook his head again, smiling at himself. 'I guess I really am a romantic at heart,' he thought. The age of bounty hunters had ended almost forty years ago, when he was just a baby, but he'd always been attracted to the adventure and romance of the cowboy lifestyle. The "Bebop" was an ugly, battered old thing, but as soon as he saw it, a voice in his heart told him he had to buy it. A real cowboy's ship... exactly as he'd imagined it, all those years ago....  
"STOP OGLING YOUR STUPID BOAT AND GET IN THE HOUSE! THE FOOD'S GETTING COLD!"  
Setting his jaw grimly, he ignored her, plunging deep into his memories.  
As a child, he hadn't had many friends. The kids his age just wouldn't accept him; he was always the dork, the nerd, and the geek. An outcast.  
In lieu of other children, he'd invented his own friends. He'd spent hours in his own little universe, an exciting world of cops and cowboys, drug syndicates and deep space shoot-outs. He was a member of a crew on a ship just like the "Bebop," chasing bounty heads across the solar system.  
The characters he'd created were so real to him, he would dream about them, even talk to them (although this made his parents nervous). There was the captain and owner of the ship, a big tough guy, but kind; all the crew looked up to him. Then there was the younger guy with the poofy hair, an ace gunman and expert martial artist with a sarcastic wit. Then the young woman, a deadly vixen with a loud mouth and a gambling problem. Finally, his best friend, a young girl with red hair and crazy hacking skills. And, of course, himself. He was the brains of the whole operation.  
Thirty years later, he stared up at the "Bebop" and smiled wistfully. 'If only I could be a real bounty hunter....'  
The front door of his house burst open and his wife appeared. "EIN!" she shrieked. "IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS IN HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE, I'M FEEDING YOUR DINNER TO THE CAT!" She slammed the door violently, shaking the house.  
Ein winced. "Coming, Wanda sweetie," he murmured, turning his back reluctantly on his new ship and walking to his front step. As he entered the house, he turned once more and gazed at the hulking silhouette against the brilliant sunset sky and sparkling waters of the harbor. He smiled at it warmly, his brown eyes fond. "See you...."  
  
SEE YOU SPACE COWDOG!  
  
Notes: Yeah, so that was my little Ein reincarnation fic. Ein as a human... heh, probably a downgrade for him! This kind of came to mind in a roundabout way. Ed is very catlike, so I kind of thought if she was reincarnated she would be a cat. I thought Jet, Spike, and Faye would be various kinds of dogs. Then I thought, "Hey, Ein's already a dog. Wonder what he would be like as a human?" So here he is, a geeky middle-aged fellow with a nagging wife (Wanda! Bwahahahaha!) and an obsession with bounty hunting. Oh well, at least he probably gets to eat better than bean sprouts in this life.  
Oh yes, and this fic is dedicated to Kuro no Hoshi, because she beta- read it and drew a cute little scribble of Spike with poofy hair. Kawaii! 


End file.
